MORE NEWS, 1-14: BIG GREEN JOBS IN STIMULUS; 2010 SLAPDOWN: CHINA BYD EV VS. GM VOLT; NEV LINE WILL MOVE NEW ENERGY; WIND GIANT GE DEALING

BIG GREEN JOBS IN STIMULUS
White House says stimulus funds have created 51,700 clean energy jobs
January 13, 2010 (USA Today)

"The White House reports…that the $5 billion in stimulus funds that has been spent to promote clean energy has created 51,700 jobs nationwide.

"Of the $787 billion stimulus package, $90 billion is related to clean energy, according to [The Economic Impact Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act Of 2009 Second Quarterly Report by the Council on Economic Advisers. Aside from the $5 billion spent, another $26 billion in clean energy funds has been obligated."

From CleanSkiesTV via YouTube

"The Recovery Act, pushed by President Obama but opposed by Republicans when it passed last year, promotes renewable energy such as solar and wind, energy efficiency, grid modernization, high-speed rail, vehicles with advanced fuel technologies and green job training… In addition to the 51,700 new jobs, it says the funds have helped create another 11,000 jobs…Measuring them in "job-years" -- one job for one year, it projects 719,000 new clean energy "job years" by [the] end of 2012.

"Representative Darrell Issa, top Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, criticized the report, [calling it “…self-serving…deceptive…[and] propaganda…]"


2010 SLAPDOWN: CHINA BYD EV VS. GM VOLT
BYD Showcases Electric Car for U.S.
Matthew Dolan, January 12, 2010 (Wall Street Journal)

"BYD Auto Co. showcased an all-electric car…that the Chinese company intends to sell in the U.S. by the second half of the year, joining a raft of new entrants seeking to grab a piece of the emerging market for emissions-free vehicles."

click to enlarge

"…BYD Chairman Wang Chuan-fu said the auto maker was still studying the market to determine how many e6 electric cars could be imported and sold in the U.S., at what price and through what kind of distribution network…

"In China, where the e6 will first go on sale, BYD—which stands for Build Your Dreams—expects to sell vehicles for city use by the government, utility companies or fleets of taxis, according to Mr. Wang. BYD expects it could be used similarly in the U.S., while a later, plug-in hybrid vehicle may be more appropriate for individual American consumers…[or BYD may] pick a specific region within the U.S. and initially market "a few hundred" e6s, priced at slightly more than $40,000, through a small number of dealers…"

click thru for updates on all EVs and PHEVs coming to market

"BYD's effort is backed by MidAmerican Energy Holding Co., the unit of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. that paid about $230 million for a 9.9% stake in BYD…The e6 will be marketed as a five-passenger crossover-style vehicle that can travel more than 200 miles on a single charge…"


NEV LINE WILL MOVE NEW ENERGY
NV Energy to partner with competitor on transmission line
Stephanie Tavares, January 11, 2010 (Las Vegas Sun)

"Nevada's largest electric company… is abandoning its plan to build a transmission line from Las Vegas to Ely and instead will partner with LS Power on that company's planned line along the same route.

"The two lines, both of which were initially planned to accompany failed coal fired power plants in Ely, have been competing for contracts from renewable energy developers and federal financing made available under the 2009 stimulus bill since the coal plant plans were scuttled."

The Southwest Intertie line (click thru for more info)

"Each would have run more than 200 miles…would make it possible for the first time to move energy from one end of Nevada to the other and would make it possible for renewable energy developers to capitalize on central and eastern Nevada's vast solar, wind and geothermal energy resources.

"But in a strategic move that developed over the past several weeks, NV Energy dropped its plans in favor of a 25 percent investment in LS Power's Southwest Intertie Project, which could eventually run along eastern Nevada all the way from Southern California to Idaho. Construction on phase one, the southern portion of the line, is expected to begin this summer and be completed in 2012."

click to enlarge

"Both lines would have cost about $500 million each to build, and NV Energy's investment with LS Power on the line will save ratepayers about $10 million over the life of the contract…In exchange for the investment, which still needs to be approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Public Utilities Commission, ratepayers would get a reduced and steadfast transmission ratte…a guaranteed 600 megawatts of transmission… and the option to purchase at a set rate up to 200 megawatts of transmission capacity on the Intertie's northern line once it is built.

"Both companies are currently negotiating with Western Area Power Administration for federal debt financing for their portion of the deal."


WIND GIANT GE DEALING
General Electric Cutting Wind Deals at Home, China; General Electric notches 1 more deal to add to growing list at home and in China
January 12, 2010 (AP via ABC News)

"General Electric announced another wind turbine deal…the latest in a string of supply contracts as the U.S. and China push alternative energy.

"GE will supply 88 turbines for three new wind projects in China's Hebei and Shanxi Provinces with the country on pace surpass the U.S as the world's largest wind market. Yet the deal comes almost exactly one month after GE landed a $1.4 billion contract to supply turbines at a massive Oregon wind farm project."

An industry standard (click to enlarge)

"A spate of deals shows how GE has benefited from a drive by both Chinese and American governments to reduce their reliance on oil and coal.

"President Barack Obama this month announced $2.3 billion in tax credits to create some 17,000 "green" jobs…The money is being divided among solar, wind and energy management companies, but companies like GE are well positioned to take advantage."

click to enlarge

"Chinese companies have made inroads into the U.S., announcing numerous supply deals, and U.S. and European companies have done the same in China…GE has committed to supply 895 units of 1.5-megawatt wind turbines to China. The country plans to add 150 gigawatts of installed wind power capacity by 2020 and aims to increase power generation from renewable sources to 15 percent of the nation's total by 2020.

"…The [newest GE/China deal] will add 132 megawatts of installed wind power capacity…"